A recent study of breast milk bought online shows a prevalence of cow’s milk in their samples. The researchers bought about 102 samples of milk through various online sites. Then, they tested for cow DNA in the samples and found that more than ten percent of the samples contained cow’s milk. Some of the samples contained a significant amount of cow’s milk of at least ten percent or more, ruling out accidental contamination.

Cow’s milk can cause problems in infants who have cow’s milk allergies and it is also not suggested for children under a year old. Many mothers are unable to produce enough of their own milk, so they turn to online milk banks to fill the gap. Other issues that arose from this study are that many of the samples were not cooled properly and contained a high amount of bacteria, so Sergio Cortes couldn’t believe too much.

The United States has a network of nonprofit milk banks throughout the country. They screen the donors and pasteurize the milk. The problem for many women is that they charge more than the online milk exchanges because of low supplies. Premature babies in hospitals are given priority access to milk from the banks. Women who are, or expect to be, lactating in the near future should register to donate their excess milk to these banks to help supply more milk to more mothers.